Patent GB-550843-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to apparatus for sorting statistical cards
IPC: A22C11/12
Filed: 1941-07-23
Abstract: 550,843. Statistical machines. BRITISH TABULATING MACHINE CO., Ltd. July 23, 1941, No. 9341. Convention date, July 24, 1940. Addition to 523,652. [Class 106 (i)] Comprises a machine for sorting cards, having two card hoppers and a receiving pocket and means for feeding cards from the two hoppers into the pocket, characterized by the provision of a counting device adapted to, count the number of cards fed from a first hopper into the pocket, means for stopping the feeding means of the cards when the counting device has counted up to a number equal to a number set up in the machine and for starting the feeding means of the cards from the second hopper, and means for restoring the counting device to zero. General lay out-The pairs of rollers 1 - 5 for " Primary " cards and 6-8 for secondary " cards are driven by the one-revolution clutches of the feeding means as in the parent Specification, the card sensing means PB1, PB2 and SB for primary and secondary cards also being the same. The cards ejected towards the pockets are distributed under control of two magnets PRM, SRM so that when neither magnet is energized all go to the pocket MS. When PRM is energized, the blade 11 deflects a primary card to pocket PRJ and when SRM is energized a guide blade 12 deflects a secondary card SRJ. Two comparing " sequence " and " selector " units of which one type of construction is described in the parent Specification are provided into either of which any two numbers can be entered, the unit comparing them taking up one of three conditions according as to whether the two numbers are equal or one higher than the other. Certain cam contacts and their timing are different from the parent invention and certain electrical connections which in that Specification are permanent in the present case are made variable through plug sockets, but the main novel features lie in the provision of similar " units " and " tens " counting devices of which the construction of the units is described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Counting devices.-The counting magnet UCM when energized, attracts the armature 615 and by pawl 613 rotates ratchet wheel 603 clockwise one tooth. The pawl 613 is held inoperative by an arm 613a abutting a frame lug 600C. Repeated energization of magnet UCM moves arm 605a on shaft 602 to contact successively the ten strips 621 against the pull of spring 607, the arm being held by a spring detent 609 which is the armature of a restoring magnet URM on energization of which the arm 605a is returned to initial or " zero " position. The frame carries insulated therefrom two spring contact members 631 with contacts VC which are closed in zero position by an arm attached to the contact arm. The contact strips 621 of each mounter are connected to a corresponding set of ten plug. sockets. An emitter of known form has a contact arm which makes contact with nine contacts in turn there being connected to corresponding strips of the Units Counter. The arm is driven synchronously with the card feed and turned so that when a card brush makes contact at say, the " 9 " index point, the arm is on contact 9. There are seven different operations described and instructions given in each case as to how to make the various plug socket connections to condition the machine for the operation. For instance, in the first example a number of cards, say 52, are to be punched from a set of master cards. A set of cards is then prepared in which each master card is followed by 52 blank cards. To effect this, the master cards are put in the Primary hopper and the blank cards in the secondary hopper and the connections made, among which certain contacts are connected to the plug socket for the units counter and to the plug socket for the "tens" counter, and when the rotating contact arms reach these positions the feed is stopped and the operation is concluded.